Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Description

Millions of people worldwide practice t’ai chi, the most popular form of which was codified beginning in the 1960s by Cheng Man Ch’ing. In this scholarly yet practical book, Professor Cheng shows precisely how the postures and moves of t’ai chi work, with examples from anatomy and physics, both internally as energetic principles and externally on opponents. He clarifies the spheres, triangles, and centripetal and centrifugal forces within physical exchanges such as push-hands. Contrasting Western and Chinese techniques of healing, he also explores the relationships of organs to one another in pathology and the necessary dynamics of treatment. Professor Cheng explains how the practitioner may serve as his or her own doctor and, likewise, as the physician or trainer of an attacker. The martial arts, he says, are not a special case of unusual power, simply an aspect of adapting natural and cosmic law to circumstance. This edition of the classic text contains 13 major essays; oral secrets from Cheng’s teacher Yang Cheng’fu; a Q&A with commentary on martial arts classics; the author’s application and functions of each of the 37 postures of the short form, with the original photographs of him as a young man; two prefaces; and much more. Review: A modern master shares his wisdom and experience in this book - A classic reference book for all students of Taiji Review: Study the 37 short form long enough to understand this book - I bought this book after leaving my highly competent and persuasive instructor to pursue the 37 short form by and for myself. I began to study the form as an antidote to grief following the death of my beloved mother, and as a result of my own exertions, and having used only this book to complement my studies, I have come to two conclusions. The first: Cheng Tzu's compression of the Yang family long form attains a rare perfection for which all students of t'ai chi ch'uan should be truly grateful; the second, which creates a difficulty for the reader: the student can only benefit from the treasures this book contains after several years of patient, diligent and conscientious study of the master's form. I am fortunate to have read the book before and after, so to speak, and I can attest to the refractory nature of writing on martial arts in general and chi studies in particular. The reader may think (s)he knows what is being said, but true understanding only comes from knowledge derived from prior experience. So, if you are serious in your intent, find an instructor who can trace his or her lineage back to Cheng Man Ch'ing -- there are few enough of them about -- and undertake serious study of the form for at least five years, then buy this book and reap the rewards of your efforts. Alas, there are no short cuts to the elevated mastery of form delineated by Cheng Tzu in this book.